Chapter 53 1993 "Abandoned City"

Genre: Novel Author: Jia Pingwa Publication: "October" Published: Issue 3, 1993 First publication: Beijing Publishing House Published: June 1993 (Written by Bai Ye) In a certain sense, the writing and publishing of novels can be regarded as a peculiar event in the contemporary literary world.This "strange" and "special" is because the author regards sexual description as the basic element of shaping male and female characters, and the works are full of grandiose sexual plots and dazzling sexual details.Such works were not only written by Jia Pingwa, but also officially released by Beijing Publishing House.Of course, it has been accompanied by criticism and controversy since it was published and published, and it is still raging to this day.

Jia Pingwa was born on February 21, 1952 in Danfeng County, Shaanxi Province. Graduated from the Chinese Department of Northwest University in 1975, he served as literary editor of Shaanxi People's Publishing House and editor of "Chang'an" monthly literary magazine. After 1982, he engaged in professional creation.His writing career began in 1974, and he has written a considerable number of influential works in both novels and prose, such as "Shangzhou", "Tumen", etc.Won the 3rd National Excellent Novella Award; "Full Moon" won the 1978 National Excellent Short Story Award; won the 1987 Mobil Pegasus Literary Award in the United States, and the 1997 French Fermina Literary Award; won the 7th Mao Dun Award in 2008 Literary Award.He is currently a member of the Presidium of the Chinese Writers Association, Chairman of the Shaanxi Writers Association, and Dean of the Humanities College of Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology.

Jia Pingwa started writing in 1992, which lasted one year and was completed in January 1993.During this period, Jia Pingwa suffered from hepatitis, marriage and homelessness, and his body and spirit were in an abnormal state.When he wrote this book, he had his own reasons.He stated in his postscript: "The writing of this book is really a great comfort and a great punishment given to me by God. It is obviously a bright and beautiful flame, which excited me, a moth in the dark. and pursuit, but lured me closer and burned me." "Is this one better than my previous works, or is it worse? Is it a fulfilled fate, or is it a trick of God? Everything They are all dazed, as dazed as I don’t know what changed during my lifetime and what changed after I died. I wrote this short article before I did the final polishing of the whole book. The purpose is to let me remember what this book brings. Give me the suffering that cannot be explained clearly to others, and remember this book, which is the only book that can stabilize my broken soul in the suffering of life." When these words revealed his state of mind at that time, they also revealed a certain kind of anxiety.In fact, the related controversies that occurred later, and the impact and annoyance they brought to him, far exceeded his original expectations.

With the background of Xijing, the ancient capital of that year, it describes the emotional decadence and life sinking of the protagonist Zhuang Zhidie, so as to express the tragic fate of intellectuals at the end of the century. Zhuang Zhidie, a well-known contemporary writer in Xijing, when he met Zhou Min and Tang Wan'er for the first time, he could never have imagined that this couple would bring about a major turning point in his life: an article by Zhou Min Reportage was involved in a protracted literary lawsuit, and Tang Wan'er became his first lover, which made him fall into the mire of lust and couldn't extricate himself from it.

Zhou Min and Tang Wan'er were originally from Tongguan. After they eloped to Xijing, Zhou Min got a job in "Xijing" magazine by virtue of his relationship with Zhuang Zhidie. The documentary work caused a sensation for a while, but because it involved Zhuang Zhidie's first love girlfriend Jing Xuemeng, Jing Yizhi sued him in court, and both Zhou Min and Zhuang Zhidie became defendants.In order to resolve the conflict, Zhuang Zhidie sent a private letter to Jing Xuemeng to express his apology.Unexpectedly, this letter became the basis for insisting on litigation.And Zhou Min was also angry with Zhuang Zhidie's retreat, and he did not hesitate to forge interview notes to free himself.Jing Xuemeng's ruthlessness and Zhou Min's ruthlessness caused Zhuang Zhidie to fall into embarrassment and pain.When the court was held, he entrusted his friend Meng Yunfang to appear in court on his behalf.During the fierce trial, Zhong Weixian, the editor-in-chief of "Xijing", fainted on the spot, and was found to have advanced cancer after being sent to the hospital.After hearing the news, Zhuang Zhidie was like a thunderbolt.

The death of Zhong Weixian made Zhuang Zhidie deeply feel the sadness and impermanence of life.He wanted to retreat behind closed doors, but his status as a celebrity pushed him to the torrent of life from time to time. Gradually, he felt that he had only a three-character name left, and nothing else, but his name was being called and scolded by others. Write and use.He wanted to find a place to write, but there was no quiet place to stay.Unable to find a way out, he gradually indulged in love in the midst of his affair and seclusion with Tang Wan'er. Zhuang Zhidie not only felt great physical and mental joy in the secret love with Tang Wan'er, but also often felt the helplessness of fate.After learning that Tang Wan'er went to the hospital to have an abortion because he was pregnant, Zhuang Zhidie was deeply moved and felt even more sympathetic.But unwilling to be lonely, when he couldn't see Tang Wan'er, he called out Liu Yue, the little nanny, and ended up having an affair with Liu Yue again.This made Zhuang Zhidie's wife Niu Yueqing intolerable.Zhuang Zhidie fell in love at first sight with the open-minded and cheerful foreign woman A Can, but the short-term relationship left an indelible impression in his heart.

Zhuang Zhidie's lawsuit was finally won after Liu Yue married the mayor's lame son, but he irretrievably lost his beloved Tang Wan'er.Niu Yueqing learned of Zhuang Zhidie's hookup with Tang Wan'er by questioning Liu Yue, and warned them by stewing and eating the pigeons they sent messages.Tang Wan'er ran away from this, and was taken back to Tongguan by her husband.Zhuang Zhidie felt extremely complicated when he received Niu Yueqing's divorce letter. Zhuang Zhidie was stunned by the successive accidents, he began to become greedy for drinking, and he would get drunk every time he drank.After posting the small news that "Zhuang Zhidie has lost the ability to write" to a newspaper, he first tried to turn himself into a commoner, but he was always recognized and laughed at.At the train station where he wanted to leave Xijing for the south by train, Zhuang Zhidie unexpectedly suffered a stroke and fell down on the seat of the station.

In June 1993, at the same time as "October" was published, it was published by Beijing Publishing House.Before, some tabloids made a preview with the title of "contemporary", and a report also misrepresented the figure of 100,000 as 1 million, causing public outcry and social concern.All kinds of public opinions and legends before publication have created a huge temptation for ordinary readers, while professional readers are full of expectations and doubts.As soon as this book came out, the literary world and society were full of excitement. This novel, which was different from Jia Pingwa's previous works and intentionally broke cultural taboos, sold out immediately after the first printing of 300,000 copies, and the publishing house quickly reprinted it.While this book has gained a rare market effect, it has also attracted criticism and even criticism-based public opinion inside and outside the literary world.A few months later, it was stopped publishing and distributing by the publishing management department.Because it was banned, piracy became more rampant, and it was widely circulated in the market. Afterwards, more than ten kinds of relevant commentary books were published.According to relevant statistics, there are 480,000 original copies and countless pirated copies, and it is conservatively estimated that there are more than 12 million copies.Being banned also stimulated the rebellious psychology of readers, and Jia Pingwa became a best-selling author in "pure literature" because of this book.

For critics and debates, the primary issue is whether the large number of sexual descriptions in the novel are appropriate, whether it is a "pornographic novel" and so on.At that time, there were many views that the sexual description in Zhong was indeed excessive, but at the same time, this view advocated that He Jia Pingwa should not be denied because of this.For example, Yan Gang pointed out after reading the work: "It is a book of lost talents. Its meaning is complicated. The benevolent sees politics, the wise sees fate, the old sees people, and the young sees sex. Readers at different levels will have different feelings. , it is inevitable and normal to cause controversy, and it is not surprising. In terms of sexual description, if the author restrains himself and emphasizes the effect of the trial, it will be better." Wang Yao later wrote in "Controversy: Yes Writer’s Portrayal or Realistic Metaphor·” (Southern Metropolis Daily, January 10, 2009) pointed out: “In the narrative structure, the sex between Zhuang Zhidie and Niu Yueqing, Tang Wan’er, Liu Yue, A Can and other women The relationship constitutes the basic skeleton. Jia Pingwa’s descriptions of sexual matters in the novel do have a lot of room for discussion and deliberation. I do not deny the rationality of some criticisms, and I also think that Jia Pingwa’s brushwork may be better if he is more restrained. But , it is undoubtedly inappropriate to regard Jia Pingwa as a "pornographic" writer because of this flaw. More than ten years later, Jia Pingwa himself talked about the problem of "box frame". The influence of the treatment method of the original version". The treatment method of the abridged version of classical literature mentioned by Jia Pingwa produced an effect beyond his own and the editor's expectations after publication. Some readers and commentators ignored the novel after their interests shifted. I think this is not what Jia Pingwa and the editor expected.”

There are also many people who expressed that they could not accept the large number of explicit sexual descriptions, and the strong "decadence", "decline" sentiment and the "loss" and "abandonment" of the "soul" and so on. fierce criticism.At that time, the one with the most intense firepower of criticism, serious attitude, and thus a certain degree of theoretical depth was "The Taste of Abandoned Capital" co-authored by Li Shulei, Chen Xiaoming, Han Yuhai, Li Jiefei, Chen Xuguang, Shao Yanjun, Rome, etc. Society, 1993).The book is composed of ten chapters, starting from "Wet end of the century", "Real 'liberation' for you to see", "No risk if you take off your pants", "Look, he's not wearing anything", " A Pot of Antique Chowder Soup" chapter title, we can see the irrepressible anger of the writers.Li Shulei pointed out in the "Preface" of "There Is No Soul at All": "Since the beginning, Jia Pingwa has transformed into a popular writer.... The novel's vulgar popularity is not a commercial trap intentionally set up, nor is it transcendent. The parody and irony on the surface, but the natural nakedness of his original personality and inner world. It has become the original text about the soul of contemporary writers written by the hand of history. When the author shows his soul to people solemnly, we It turns out that he has no soul.” Regarding the creation talk, and the reports, evaluations, and debates after the publication of the work, Xiao Xialin edited the book "Abandoned City" (Xueyuan Publishing House, 1993), which contains rich and comprehensive collections.

In the upsurge of criticism, more critics advocate to go beyond sexual description to grasp the work as a whole.Radar pointed out: "First, it is beautiful, interesting, and fascinating, and it vividly describes today's human conditions and the world; second, this book captures the typical social emotions and mentality of some people today, and expresses a deep-seated confusion, anxiety, Impetuous and confused; third, it goes without saying that its bold and straightforward sexual descriptions have aroused the curiosity of many people. As for the protagonist Zhuang Zhidie, the work actually writes about the traditions that exist in contemporary society through his encounters. The invisible process of how culture transforms literati into idlers through celebrities. In this sense, Zhuang Zhidie’s luck and misfortune are not just his own. It belongs to the novels of the world and has a very close blood relationship with Chinese classical novels , combined with the vocabulary of modern life, and the skillful combination is amazing, and it can be said to have the charm of "Golden Vase" and "Red Mansion". It is not an exaggeration to say that this novel is shocking." And because of this "shocking", Others thought it was "inappropriate".For example, Fei Bingxun said: "From the late Qing Dynasty to the present, Chinese novels are written by extracting and selecting typical events and plots. This has formed a very solid habit of creation and appreciation of reading. Contrary to this long-standing habit, life is presented in a non-epic, chaotic, trivial and natural narrative language system. This writing method has similarities with, and some content. I guess it is difficult for people to understand and understand in this era. Accept it. It may be a handed down work, but it is too early in this era, so I do not advocate Jia Pingwa's publication of this work." Relevant comments and controversies have continued from the 1990s to the new century.Among them, Li Jianjun's "Direct Admonition to the Shaanxi Army" was more influential, and two subsequent writer criticisms by young scholars. Li Jianjun expressed his outspoken critical opinions on the creations of Chen Zhongshi and Jia Pingwa at the seminar on "Bailuyuan" Commentary Collection (held in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province in September 2000).After the meeting, Li Jianjun was invited by the reporter of "Sanqin Metropolis Daily" to make "Questions and Answers on Literary Criticism and Shaanxi Writers' Creation"; after that, he wrote the article "Direct Admonition to Shaanxi Writers" ("Contentment on Literature and Art") based on these opinions. Issue 6, 2000).After these opinions, interviews and articles were published one after another, they aroused strong repercussions inside and outside the Shaanxi literary circle, and also attracted widespread attention from the domestic literary circles.Regarding Jia Pingwa’s and his subsequent creations, he basically holds a negative attitude, thinking that it is difficult to see “something that makes people slightly satisfied. There is no new spiritual vision, no new discourse style, no intelligent narrative form, No real living characters have been created. It will always be like that: neither present nor ancient, neither dead nor alive, neither yin nor yang, neither bright nor dark, neither human nor ghost, neither cold nor hot, neither literary nor white. It’s tasteless, and it’s not a pity to discard it. However, Jia Pingwa’s books have been selling very well. This is really a strange phenomenon, a strange phenomenon with Chinese characteristics. I regard this as a typical state of literary corruption.” Regarding, Li Jianjun has successively written a series of critical articles such as "Counter-Cultural Writing in Private Form", "Anti-Authentic Writing in Random Fabrication" and "Anti-Modern Writing in Hasty Imitation of Antiquity" ("Necessary Objection", Shandong Literature and Art Publishing House, 2005). In 2004, Zhu Dake and others co-authored "Critical Books of Ten Writers", which was published by Shaanxi Normal University Press.This book includes Wu Xuan's "Jia Pingwa's Criticism: Despite Thousands of Styles, Kidney Deficiency Still" article, which provides a rational criticism of Jia Pingwa's creation, especially severe criticism.Wu Xuan thought: Jia Pingwa wanted to write such a novel, but in the end he just imitated some forms.The "Four Great Families" in the movie became the "Four Celebrities" in the movie. ... As far as sex is concerned, Jia Pingwa's problem is not that he wrote "sex" as some critics said, or wrote "sex" in this way, but that Jia Pingwa did not take "sex" seriously, and did not produce "sex" as Lawrence did. Such a unique understanding does not use "sex" to establish a unique world that is different from, and also different from, so that we have a refreshing feeling, or let us have a new understanding of the issue of "sex". In March of the same year, China Workers Publishing House released "Playing Chess with the Devil: Five Writers' Criticism Book", which included Jiang Ni's "Jia Pingwa's "Sickness Report". Negative views, the article pointed out: "All women don't like to read it, they think it is dirty, and the cheating women in it are all unreal and idealized.Most of the people who like to read it are men, and the author is also interested in this point, so he spares no effort to create a few women who are as beautiful as flowers. . " In 2004, Jia Pingwa said in an interview about whether to republish ("Jiangnan Times" November 12, 2004) when talking about criticism and debate: "If the debate and criticism are within the scope of literature, I welcome; If it is not within the scope of literature, I don't care much. If someone says that my writing has inherited the dross of "ancient sex literature", do you think it is fair? There are sexual descriptions in it, and after that, my works of more than ten years Where is it written about sex?" He also pointed out: "Of course it is an important work of mine, and it has been surrounded by discussions and comments for more than ten years, but the evaluation of it is quite different from what it was more than ten years ago. That comforts me." In 2005, Jia Pingwa’s new novel was published. When people talked about the process of this new work, they often mentioned the re-understanding and re-evaluation of love. At the Beijing Symposium in May 2005, Niu Yuqiu thought: In fact, it is to use debauchery to Works that mask mental pain, and this pushed his creation to a new peak.Li Jingze said, I am surprised that Jia Pingwa, a writer, can always establish a very secret connection with our time in unexpected places. This kind of connection has been experienced in China more than ten years ago.Chen Xiaoming also mentioned that they made fierce criticisms about it back then, treating it as a very important literary phenomenon, and now they even think it is one of the most important contemporary novels. Wang Yao's views on "controversy" pointed out its significance more pertinently.He believes: "The controversy about the issue concentrates various cultural conflicts in the transformation period of contemporary Chinese society. The controversial issue leaves a huge room for interpretation, and it involves many key factors of contemporary Chinese intellectuals, literature, and ideological culture since the late 1980s. "In the ten years since then, voices of solidarity have been heard, and some commentators who have tried their best to deny it are also revising their views. In my opinion, the controversy about this novel may and should continue. But we already have the conditions to look at things in a balanced way” (Southern Metropolis Daily, January 10, 2009). Jia Pingwa: Writers Press, 2005 Edition Radar: "The Struggle of the Soul——Analysis", "Contemporary Writers Review", No. 6, 1993 Chen Juntao, Bai Ye, Wang Fei: "The Endless Abandoned City", "Contemporary Writers Review", Issue 6, 1993 Edited by Duowei: "The Taste of Abandoned City", Henan People's Publishing House, 1993 Edition Editor-in-Chief Xiao Xialin: "Abandoned City" Who Was Abandoned, Xueyuan Press, 1993 Edition Li Xing, Sun Jianxi: "Jia Pingwa Commentary Biography", Zhengzhou University Press, 2005 Edition